- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 8 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual outturn has been for its Opportunities for All initiative, and how many people have received support from it each year.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-02564 on 28 September 2016. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 7 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) companies in Scotland are signatories to the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) and (b) signatories there have been in each year since the PPC was introduced.
Answer
The Prompt Payment Code is administered by the Chartered Institute of Credit Management on behalf of the UK Government. The voluntary Code covers businesses throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK. The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested, but Code signatories and details of the Code standards can be found here: http://www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk/
The Scottish Parliament approved a legislative consent motion earlier this year
(9 February 2016) to extend the provisions of the UK-wide Small Business Commissioner to businesses in Scotland. The Commissioner will aim to offer small businesses access to a simpler and more cost-effective route to redress the challenges of contractual late payment. We continue to work with the UK government to develop the Small Business Commissioner’s function and ensure it meets the needs of businesses in Scotland.
In addition, the Scottish Government encourages individual companies to change their approach and practices – through, for example, the Scottish Business Pledge which remains focused on boosting business success, growth and productivity and is an important part of the Scottish Government’s approach to working with business to make Scotland a more productive and fairer country.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 6 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of late payments of bills on businesses.
Answer
The Scottish Government is aware of a range of survey evidence on the issue of late payment. For example, the Small Business Survey Scotland (SBS) 2015 did not quantify the impact of late payment in financial terms, but found that late payment seemed to be less of an issue for medium-sized businesses (47 per cent reported ‘no problem’), while micro businesses seemed to experience the greatest problems (although 33 per cent reported ‘no problem’). The survey also found that late payment was in the median of top ten obstacles to business success.
The Scottish Government takes the issue of late payment very seriously. It is being actively tackled through legislation, policy and practice. The current legislation aims to create an environment where paying on time is the norm in the business community. Paying (undisputed) invoices on time not only benefits all suppliers, but is ethical and fair.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul Wheelhouse on 6 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding the number of businesses that have been bankrupted as a result of the late payment of invoices in each year since 2011.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Accountant in Bankruptcy has a statutory function to maintain a Register of Insolvencies that contains particulars of those subject to personal insolvency proceedings and business associations subject to receivership and winding up procedures in Scotland. Information concerning the particular reason for a business insolvency is not collected or recorded. Corporate insolvency procedures in relation to Administration and Company Voluntary Arrangement are reserved to UK Government and information regarding Scottish companies subject to these procedures is recorded on Companies House web-site. While I recognise the value in having greater insight into the reasons underlying and insolvency, and sympathise with the member's interests in driving out bad practice, it is unfortunately not currently possible to extract the reasons for insolvency from the information available on the Companies House web-site to inform our understanding of the impact of late payments.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 05 December 2016
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2016
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to the recent growth forecast by the EY Scottish ITEM Club.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 8 December 2016
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 5 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of suppliers to each (a) of its directorates, (b) of its agencies and (c) non-departmental public body is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold centrally records of suppliers who are signatories to the prompt payment code for its Directorates, Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies. It is a standard condition of Scottish Government contracts that suppliers are paid within 30 days. Where relevant, it is also a standard condition that any sub-contract must contain a clause which requires payment of invoices to sub contractors within 30 days.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 5 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of late payments in publicly-funded subcontract chains and the impact of these.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold details of every contract awarded by every public body in Scotland. We have taken steps, however, to reduce the impact of late payment in public contracts. In 2009, we introduced a standard clause into our contracts which requires valid invoices to be paid within 30 days of receipt at all stages of both the prime contract and sub-contract chain. We encourage other public bodies to adopt a similar clause.
The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires contracting authorities to set out how they intend to ensure that payments down the sub-contract chain are made within 30 days of a valid invoice being presented.
We published guidance on the use of Project Bank Accounts (PBAs) in construction contracts in September 2016. PBAs ensure that payments for supply chain firms in both tiers immediately below the main contractor are made promptly and protected from upstream insolvency. Scottish Government bodies must include a PBA in tenders with an estimated value of at least £4.1m for building projects, or £10m for civil engineering projects. We encourage other public bodies to also use PBAs.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 November 2016
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2016
To ask the Scottish Government when it will set a new target to eradicate fuel poverty.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 7 December 2016
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Keith Brown on 30 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government, further to answer to question S5W-03759 by Paul Wheelhouse on 31 October 2016, whether it will publish the 44 performance measures for Scottish Enterprise.
Answer
Scottish Enterprise is responsible for setting and publishing the performance measures that monitor the contribution it makes in terms of its economic impact. Their performance measures are set out in their Business Plan. SE’s 2015-18 Business Plan can be found at: https://www.scottish-enterprise.com/about-us/what-we-do/business-plan
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 18 November 2016
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Current Status:
Answered by Derek Mackay on 29 November 2016
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of each of its directorate's invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is paid on time, and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between each directorate and private companies is held by SMEs.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information broken down by supplier type. However, we have provided in the following table, the most recent figures available (October 2016) of our ten day payment performance, by Directorate General. We do not hold the information by Directorate.
|
Scottish Government Directorates
|
Number of invoices paid within ten days
|
|
DG Communities
|
98%
|
|
DG Economy
|
99%
|
|
DG Finance
|
98%
|
|
DG Health & Social Care
|
99%
|
|
DG Learning and Justice
|
98%
|
|
DG Strategy and Operations
|
99%
|
According to figures obtained from the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) advertising portal the numbers of SMEs winning awards by each Scottish Government directorate for 2014 and 2015 are recorded in the table below.
As many contracts are multi supplier frameworks we can only provide information on the percentage of suppliers winning awards.
Until 18 April 2016, there was no legal requirement to record contract values and therefore the PCS portal is not able to provide accurate figures at this time for the value of the contracts awarded.
|
|
Total
Suppliers Awarded Contracts
|
SMEs Awarded Contracts
|
% SME
|
Total Suppliers Awarded contracts
|
SMEs
Awarded Contracts
|
% SME
|
|
Built Environment Directorate
|
44
|
25
|
56.8
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Chief Information Officer
|
45
|
23
|
51.1
|
46
|
27
|
58.7
|
|
Digital Directorate
|
64
|
39
|
60.9
|
60
|
37
|
61.7
|
|
Directorate For Business
|
43
|
25
|
58.1
|
46
|
27
|
58.7
|
|
Directorate For Chief Medical Officer, Public Health And Sport
|
39
|
21
|
53.8
|
66
|
45
|
68.2
|
|
Directorate For Chief Nursing Officer, Patients, Public And Health Professions
|
42
|
24
|
57.1
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Directorate For Children And Families
|
39
|
21
|
53.8
|
49
|
30
|
61.2
|
|
Directorate For Education Analytical Services
|
40
|
22
|
55.0
|
45
|
26
|
57.8
|
|
Directorate For Employability, Skills And Lifelong Learning
|
39
|
20
|
51.3
|
45
|
27
|
60.0
|
|
Directorate For Energy And Climate Change
|
47
|
28
|
59.6
|
59
|
36
|
61.0
|
|
Directorate For Health And Healthcare Improvement
|
40
|
22
|
55.0
|
61
|
41
|
67.2
|
|
Directorate For Health And Social Care Integration
|
76
|
45
|
59.2
|
49
|
28
|
57.1
|
|
Directorate For Health Workforce And Performance
|
41
|
22
|
53.7
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Directorate For Hr And Organisational Development
|
43
|
22
|
51.2
|
46
|
27
|
58.7
|
|
Directorate For Justice
|
76
|
53
|
69.7
|
50
|
32
|
64.0
|
|
Directorate For Learning
|
44
|
25
|
56.8
|
53
|
33
|
62.3
|
|
Directorate For Legal Services (Solicitor To The Scottish Government)
|
38
|
20
|
52.6
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Directorate For Marine Scotland
|
115
|
87
|
75.7
|
98
|
73
|
74.5
|
|
Directorate For Office Of The Chief Scientific Adviser
|
38
|
20
|
52.6
|
45
|
27
|
60.0
|
|
Directorate For Safer Communities
|
43
|
22
|
51.2
|
52
|
33
|
63.5
|
|
Directorate For The Inspectorate Of Prosecution In Scotland
|
38
|
20
|
52.6
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Directorate for Agriculture, Food and Rural Communities
|
112
|
67
|
59.8
|
101
|
57
|
56.4
|
|
Directorate for Chief Economist
|
49
|
27
|
55.1
|
48
|
29
|
60.4
|
|
Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support
|
10
|
5
|
50.0
|
58
|
37
|
63.8
|
|
Directorate for Culture and Heritage
|
39
|
20
|
51.3
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Directorate for Environment and Forestry
|
74
|
46
|
62.2
|
50
|
31
|
62.0
|
|
Directorate for External Affairs
|
41
|
22
|
53.7
|
47
|
29
|
61.7
|
|
Directorate for Finance, eHealth and Pharmaceuticals
|
40
|
22
|
55.0
|
52
|
31
|
59.6
|
|
Directorate for Housing, Regeneration, the Commonwealth Games and Sport
|
75
|
43
|
57.3
|
58
|
36
|
62.1
|
|
Directorate for Local Government and Communities
|
45
|
26
|
57.8
|
57
|
35
|
61.4
|
|
Directorate for Strategy and Constitution
|
41
|
22
|
53.7
|
47
|
27
|
57.4
|
|
Directorate for the Health Quality Unit
|
12
|
5
|
41.7
|
49
|
31
|
63.3
|
|
Finance Directorate
|
46
|
27
|
58.7
|
52
|
30
|
57.7
|
|
Office Of The Scottish Parliamentary Counsel
|
38
|
20
|
52.6
|
44
|
26
|
59.1
|
|
Scottish Procurement And Commercial Directorate
|
51
|
28
|
54.9
|
121
|
79
|
65.3
|
|
TOTAL
|
1707
|
986
|
57.8
|
1918
|
1183
|
61.7
|
