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: S5O-01397

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to review the operation of the Scottish Futures Trust to help improve transparency.

Question reference: S5W-11773

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish a full set of public sector assets and liabilities.

Question reference: S5W-11777

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the financial implications for the block grant, in cash terms, of a growth rate in Scotland that is lower than the rest of the UK.

Under the Fiscal Framework, Scotland’s block grant continues to be determined by the operation of the Barnett Formula, and is adjusted to reflect the new fiscal powers that have been devolved. The Scottish Government remains committed to doing all it can to generate sustainable economic growth, which is important for protecting and growing tax receipts. As part of its financial management, the Scottish Government monitors performance of both the UK and the Scottish economy, updating assessments at key UK Fiscal events to inform Budget decisions.

Question reference: S5W-11772

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 25 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish Whole Government Accounts.

A commitment was given in November 2016 to produce a "tailored for Scotland" consolidated public account. The Scottish Government has designated the financial year 2016-17 as a shadow year for production of this account, with a view to publishing outputs during 2018. The on-going work to deliver this shadow year account will inform the plans as to the timetable, scope, format, content and audit arrangements for production of this account in future periods.

It may be helpful to note that the scope of the accounts produced will include assets and liabilities of public bodies within the Scottish Administration, plus local authorities and other public sector bodies such as non-departmental public bodies and public corporations.

Question reference: S5W-11895

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many passengers have (a) departed from and (b) arrived at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (i) since April 2017 and (ii) in each year since 2015, also broken down by airline.

Passenger numbers broken down by departing and arriving passengers for 2015, 2016 and 2017 (to September) are provided in the following table. Figures have been provided for Ryanair as the only scheduled passenger airline serving Prestwick during this period. Figures are also provided for other flights which include passengers on non-scheduled, chartered, military, general aviation and diverted flights. We do not hold a breakdown of these ‘other’ flights:

Year

Departing

Arriving

Total

	Ryanair	Other	Ryanair	Other	Ryanair	Other
2015	301,796	3,672	299,762	5,344	601,558	9,016
2016	331,382	5,546	329,818	6325	661,200	11,871
2017*	283,686	3,283	277,387	6,405	561,073	9,688
Apr-Sep 2017	243,306	2,346	239,055	3,203	482,361	5,549

* Total passenger figures January to September 2017

Source: Glasgow Prestwick Airport

Question reference: S5W-11894

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government which (a) passenger and (b) freight cargo airlines use Glasgow Prestwick Airport, broken down by the number of flights each day.

Ryanair are the only passenger airline currently serving Prestwick Airport. However, we do not hold information on the number of Ryanair flights broken down for each day.

Two freight operators, Air France and Cargolux, currently operate scheduled flights to Prestwick Airport with approximately six flights per week. We do not, however, hold this information broken down by flights per day. A range of other cargo operators use Prestwick on an ad-hoc basis.

Question reference: S5W-11774

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government when the new Data Analytical Unit will be established; how many staff will be employed, and whether these staff will be in addition to existing statistician numbers.

The Scottish Government has begun a recruitment process to appoint an individual to lead the Analytical Unit which will have its own dedicated staff. This appointment and resourcing of the unit is being taken forward in consultation with the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board. In the interim, analytical support for the Strategic Board is being provided by Scottish Government analysts supported by the analytical capacity from the wider Enterprise and Skills system.

Question reference: S5W-11896

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 09 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many tonnes of freight cargo have (a) departed from and (b) arrived at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (i) since April 2017 and (ii) in each year since 2015, also broken down by airline.

The volume of arriving and departing freight transported through the airport since 2015 is provided in the following table. We cannot provide the freight volume figures broken down by airline as this information is commercially sensitive.

Year	Departing	Arriving	Total
2015	4,825	6,499	11,324
2016	3,853	7,312	11,165
2017*	2,780	5,613	8,393
Apr-Sep 2017	1,769	3,582	5,351

* Total freight figures January to September 2017

Source: Glasgow Prestwick Airport

Question reference: S5W-11770

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Derek Mackay on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether the criteria to use emergency borrowing powers has been met and whether the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution plans to use this power.

Question reference: S5W-11775

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 October 2017
Current Status: Answered by Keith Brown on 24 October 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how many statisticians it employs to collect and analyse economic data.

There are 27 statistical staff employed in the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser to collect and analyse economic data. These staff cover a range of work streams including: National Accounts (GDP, Input-Output tables, National Accounts and Public Sector Finances); Business and Trade; Energy and Climate Change; and Labour Market statistics.

Further details are available in the Scottish Economic Statistics Plan 2017-18 - http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy/ScotStat/Planning/SESP-2017-18.