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-14389

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 27 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12919 by Derek Mackay on 6 December 2017, how many of the invoices that it has received in each year since 1999 have not been paid within 30 days of receipt at all stages of the (a) prime- and (b) sub-contract chain, broken down by the total value of the contracts.

The Scottish Government no longer holds data going back as far as 1999 and does not have this information at all stages of the prime and sub-contract chain. We have provided in the following table, payment performance for those invoices that were not paid within 30 days of receipt, from April 2012 to date.

Financial Year	Percentage number of invoices not paid within 30 days
2012-13	1.1%
2013-14	0.5%
2014-15	0.6%
2015-16	0.3%
2016-17	0.2%
2017-18 (April-January)	0.3%

Question reference: S5W-14237

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 26 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government for what reasons there has been a reported decrease of (a) 5% in overall satisfaction in ScotRail, (b) 6%, down to 71%, in levels of satisfaction with the level of crowding on trains and (c) 3%, down to 51%, in levels of satisfaction with how well the company deals with delays, since the last survey in Spring 2017.

With a very small sample size of respondents who take part in the survey, it is difficult to determine the precise reasons for the satisfaction scores. However, for a more accurate year on year comparator, it is considered more relevant to compare the scores to the Autumn 2016 results where –

(a) overall satisfaction in Autumn 2017 increased 2% from Autumn 2016

(b) there is no comparison for level of overcrowding as this question only introduced in Spring 2017

I completely understand the frustration that poor performance can have on the customer experience. Unfortunately ScotRail has faced a number of challenges in recent months, not least due to the impact of seasonal weather, which affects most UK operators, and as a consequence performance has fallen below the standards required by the Scottish Government and demanded by passengers.

As a result, ScotRail has appointed a railway industry expert to undertake an independent review of train service performance and propose steps for improvement. The review is underway and the findings will be used to develop actions to inform a Performance Improvement Plan, focussed and targeted towards delivering improved performance in key areas where there has been significant issues across the core business function – infrastructure, fleet, operations and customer experience.

Transport Scotland welcomes this review and expects the recent downward trend to be addressed so that passengers can enjoy the level of service that they desire and deserve.

Question reference: S5W-14262

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent under the SME Holding Fund H&I (2015-18), and whether it will provide a breakdown of this expenditure.

Question reference: S5W-14261

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent under the SME Holding Fund LUPS (2015-18), and whether it will provide a breakdown of this expenditure.

The requested performance data under the of the SME Holding Fund is not yet published as it is subject to a verification process under the European Regional Development Fund Regulations.

A report for the European Commission on the implementation of the SME Holding Fund will be prepared during April, primarily for the Joint Programme Monitoring Committee (the body which provides advice to Scottish Government on the use of EU funding in Scotland).

The report will cover the period to 31 December 2017. It will cover, inter alia, total amount invested with a breakdown of funding sources (private and public), total amount invested by Delivery Agent (microfinance, debt, equity), total number of companies receiving investment support, private sector leverage, number of jobs created and give a LUPS, H&I spend breakdown.

A copy of the report will be provided to the Scottish Parliamentary Information Service and I would be happy to share it with the member at that time.

Question reference: S5W-14390

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12919 by Derek Mackay on 6 December 2017, how many project bank accounts have been set up each year, and how many have been (a) not completed and (b) breached.

Question reference: S5W-14397

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12919 by Derek Mackay on 6 December 2017, how the "other public bodies" that are referred to in project bank account (PBA) guidance, are encouraged to use PBAs.

The Scottish Government implementation model for project bank accounts (PBAs) facilitates wider uptake alongside which there is a range of stakeholder engagement measures and events to encourage “other public bodies” to use them. Four such bodies have advised they each have one project for which a contract containing a PBA will be awarded in 2018. Their combined value is currently estimated at £22m. Others are considering the option of applying a PBA to projects due on site in 2019 estimated at £175m.

Question reference: S5W-14409

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many subcontractors have requested to join each project bank account, including for tier (a) 2 and (b) 3; how many requests were refused, and how many did not request to join, broken down by reason for doing so.

Question reference: S5W-14394

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-12919 by Derek Mackay on 6 December 2017, how many times each year (a) the supply chain member has elected not to participate in and (b) a main contractor has excluded a supply chain member from a project bank account arrangement, broken down by reason.

Question reference: S5W-14387

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government how many public project subcontractors have been declined by each project bank account.

Question reference: S5W-14430

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 February 2018
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 21 February 2018

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide details of how its strategic supplier risk-management policy operates.

The Scottish Government has developed the Procurement Journey, a web-based collection of tools/processes to support it and the public sector community in Scotland including central government, local authorities, National Health bodies, Universities and Colleges. This includes a dedicated section on contract and supplier management. This can be found at: https://www.procurementjourney.scot/route-3/route-3-contract-supplier-management-managing-improving-performance

In addition the Scottish Government works with United Kingdom Cabinet Office to support the strategic management of key suppliers who operate across the UK.