Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-12036

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) Police Scotland and (b) other law enforcement agencies regarding the potential for illicit trade in single-use bottles following the introduction of the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Question reference: S5W-12034

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what business impact assessment it has carried on the plans for the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Question reference: S5W-12035

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Roseanna Cunningham on 2 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what research it has carried out on the potential impact on the wholesale sector of the proposed national deposit return scheme for plastic and glass bottles.

Question reference: S5W-12189

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 2 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the state provider of energy that it announced will be fully operational.

The Scottish Government is developing plans for an energy company that will support our efforts to tackle fuel poverty and help to achieve our ambitious climate change targets. In developing our plans we are reviewing responses to specific questions on the issue set out within the consultation on the Scottish Government's draft Energy Strategy. The aim is to have the company set up by the end of this term of the Parliament. Our final Energy Strategy is scheduled to be published by the end of the year and we will bring forward further thinking at that time.

Question reference: S5W-12248

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-11765

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to market the Vale of Leven Community Maternity Unit to a wider catchment area, specifically Clydebank.

Question reference: S5W-11768

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that the pilot scheme of the Best Start strategy at the Vale of Leven Community Maternity Unit is independently evaluated.

Question reference: S5W-11767

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the pilot scheme for the Best Start strategy will start at the Vale of Leven Community Maternity Unit and for how long it will run.

Question reference: S5W-11766

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 31 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the birthing service will remain at the Vale of Leven Community Maternity Unit during the pilot scheme for the Best Start strategy.

Question reference: S5W-11881

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 27 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11227 by Jamie Hepburn on 21 September 2017, whether it will provide a breakdown of self-employment income by type in each year since 1999.

The following tables show the estimated average incomes of self-employed adults in Scotland between 1999-2000 and 2015-16. The figures are estimates based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS). They relate to all adults identified as either part-time or full-time self-employed including those who reported a loss in the period. Figures are nominal values.

Two alternative measures of the average are provided. Table 1 provides median incomes whilst table 2 provides mean incomes and includes a breakdown by income source.

The median (table 1) may be seen as the preferred measure as it is less sensitive to small numbers of especially high incomes in the underlying (FRS) dataset. However it does not make sense to provide medians for different income sources and so only the median total income of self-employed people is provided. This is made up of income from self-employment as well as from other sources.

To provide a breakdown by income source it makes sense to use the mean. The mean is sensitive to small numbers of especially high incomes in the underlying (FRS) dataset and so the overall income figures are higher than those in table 1 and are more prone to fluctuate over time.

Table 1: Annual median total income of self-employed adults in Scotland between 1999-2000 and 2015-16 , £s (nominal)

	Total income
1999-2000	13,000
2000-01	13,000
2001-02	13,000
2002-03	12,200
2003-04	14,500
2004-05	14,400
2005-06	12,400
2006-07	15,300
2007-08	15,000
2008-09	16,100
2009-10	15,600
2010-11	15,300
2011-12	15,600
2012-13	13,700
2013-14	16,900
2014-15	16,800
2015-16	17,000

Source: Family Resource Survey

Table 2: Annual average (mean) income of self-employed adults in Scotland between 1999-2000 and 2015-16 broken down by income source, £s (nominal)

	Income from self-employment	Income from benefits	Income from other sources	Total income
1999-2000	15,200	400	3,100	18,700
2000-01	28,800	500	3,600	32,900
2001-02	16,200	400	1,900	18,400
2002-03	16,400	600	2,300	19,200
2003-04	22,100	600	2,500	25,200
2004-05	17,600	600	2,800	21,000
2005-06	17,400	600	3,900	21,900
2006-07	19,800	600	2,900	23,200
2007-08	20,500	600	3,000	24,100
2008-09	22,900	700	3,400	27,100
2009-10	25,400	900	2,800	29,100
2010-11	19,200	900	3,600	23,700
2011-12	19,500	1,000	3,200	23,800
2012-13	20,000	900	2,700	23,600
2013-14	21,500	700	3,500	25,600
2014-15	21,500	900	4,400	26,800
2015-16	23,800	700	3,800	28,300

Source: Family Resource Survey

Notes:

1. All figures are nominal meaning that they have not been adjusted for inflation.

2. The FRS is a sample survey. All survey estimates have a sampling error attached to them. Given the relatively small number of records associated with self-employed adults in Scotland in the sample, some of the variability between years may be due sampling error rather than any real change in income for self-employed people in Scotland.

3. The FRS asks a detailed and consistent set of questions on self-employment earnings. However, FRS earnings measures are likely to underestimate the true monetary and other benefits of self-employment e.g. income in kind, flexibility in working patterns etc.

4. Self-employed income is the total amount of income received from self-employment gross of tax and national insurance payments, based on profits where the individual considers themselves as running a business or on estimated earnings-drawings otherwise. Excludes any profit due to partners in the business. Any losses are deducted.