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.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

Filter your results Hide all filters

Displaying 9050 questions Show Answers

Order by |

Question reference: S6W-11513

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what conversations it has had with Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP regarding any implications of VAT in delivering the National Care Service.

We awarded a contract through a competitive tender for independent VAT advice from Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP. AAB have been commissioned to provide advice and support to Scottish Government employees on VAT implications, to produce an options paper exploring the VAT implications of different NCS scenarios, and to produce a final report on the considerations of VAT and eventual outcome. This work is ongoing.

Question reference: S6W-11517

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether any additional funding to the £10 million Long COVID Support Fund, announced for 2022-23 to 2024-25, will be made available to NHS boards in the forthcoming budget for the treatment of Long COVID, in light of the reported increase in the number of people with the condition.

In 2022-23, funding of £18 billion is provided for health and social care. This substantial investment is already benefitting a range of services that are supporting the needs of people living with long COVID.

Health funding for 2023-24 will be confirmed through the forthcoming budget process.

We engage with NHS Boards on a regular basis regarding their capacity needs, and will continue to do so in order to inform the allocation of the long COVID Support Fund.

Question reference: S6W-11515

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has carried out of any VAT liability for care services that are currently VAT free following the creation of the National Care Service.

Question reference: S6W-11514

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to follow the same model on VAT with the National Care Service that was used during the centralisation of Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

Question reference: S6W-11480

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 10 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 10 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government how much money it has spent to date in awarding contracts to private companies to undertake work regarding the establishment of a National Care Service, broken down by company, contract duration, and purpose of contract.

Please see the details of contracts awarded to private companies to undertake work regarding the establishment of a National Care Service in the following table.

Contract	Supplier Awarded Contract	Contract Duration	Total Contract Value	Contract Purpose
Financial Controls Review	AAB	3 months with the option for a 4 month extension which can be used purely for time to complete, not to add monetary value	£45,504 exc. VAT	To provide advice to the NCS finance team on recommendations for improvement where necessary on the financial controls in place, the capacity and capability of the finance team, and the methodology used to provide estimates set-up and running costs for the NCS.
VAT Advice	AAB	12 months	£46,749 exc. VAT	To provide advice on necessary VAT preparations for the establishment of a NCS. To provide advice on the VAT impact of different NCS scenarios and recommend any options and/or solutions that could potentially achieve a VAT neutral outcome.
Operating model and business case production	KPMG	18 months	£530,000 exc. VAT	To produce a Current Operating Model for the current social care sector, a Target Operating Model for the National Care Service and a Programme Business Case.
Provision of consultation response analysis	PwC	3 months	£68,360 exc. VAT	Contract to undertake analysis and the production of a report for the public consultation on A National Care Service for Scotland. Contract now complete.
National Care Service operating model design	PwC	2 months	£107,020.80 inc. VAT	Contract for advice and the production of a report on programme governance arrangements and a Design Authority within the National Care Service Programme. Contract now complete.
Landscape review	Socitim (Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation)	12 months	£412,624.00 exc. VAT	A review of the technology and digital architectural landscape across the public, private and third sector organisations who are involved in the delivery of social care services in Scotland to understand what will and will not work in the system
User research	Storm ID	2 months	£47,300.00 exc. VAT	User research to explore how people experience interacting with services in Scotland, and is particularly focussed on what data is important to them. Contract now complete.
International research	Capgemini Invents	2 months	£49,000.00 exc. VAT	Research to understand what digital approaches, services and products have enabled similar services outside of Scotland and what lessons can be learned from both successful and unsuccessful digital projects and programmes. This will focus on the technical and practical elements of work rather than the policy drivers. Contract now complete.
Technical architecture partner	Capgemini Invents	12 months	£338,730.00 exc. VAT	Research to understand in detail how data is currently flowing in the social care and health system and a technical architecture review of existing national digital assets to make a technical assessment to inform design decisions and inform the re-use of assets where appropriate.

Question reference: S6W-11663

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement Living Wage uplifts to public grants and contracts to avoid any further financial pressure being placed on voluntary organisations.

The challenging funding landscape and difficult choices facing the Scottish Budget in coming years have only worsened since publication of the Resource Spending Review. As a result of inflation, the Scottish Government’s budget is now worth around £1.7 billion less than when it was published in December.

It is clear that Fair Work, including fair pay, is more important than ever in the context of the cost of living crisis, and we will use all the levers we can to support those most affected.

In the current economic climate, we recognise, most recently in the publication of the Emergency Budget Review, that there are a number of cost pressures on Scottish Government budget and associated contracts including inflation, energy costs and increases to the real Living Wage. We have undertaken a risk-assessment of our key current contracts and framework agreements and are working closely and sensitively with suppliers through this period to manage those contracts.

We understand the importance of fair and stable funding for the third sector and the benefit of this for longer term planning and development. As we continue to work through the impact of the recent and upcoming UK Government announcements on our ability to deliver the spending plans as set out in the Spending Review in May. We are also considering the appropriate level of detail and timing of financial information we can provide in the longer-term.

Question reference: S6W-11516

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the creation of the National Care Service, whether it is the case that VAT free status will only apply to those care services that are delivered by local authorities.

Question reference: S6W-11479

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government whether it expects the establishment of a National Care Service to give rise to VAT or other tax implications.

Question reference: S6W-11478

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Kevin Stewart on 9 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government on what basis it awarded a contract to Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP, which is reportedly worth £46,749, in relation to National Care Service VAT Support.

Question reference: S6W-11629

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 October 2022
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 8 November 2022

To ask the Scottish Government what action is being taken to provide financial support to the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Edinburgh Filmhouse.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-11493 on 26 October 2022 and S6T00915 on 25 October 2022.

The answer to Topical Question S6T-00915 can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-25-10-2022?meeting=13939&iob=126317#16180

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers