- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 03 December 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 3 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive, if further capital is accelerated in the pre Budget report, whether it will consider reinstating the Glasgow Airport Rail Link as requested by Scotland’s six principal business organisations.
Answer
With Parliament''s support we accelerated some £350 million of capital spending from 2010-11 into 2008-09 and 2009-10. That money has delivered real benefits, but it means, of course, that the budget for 2010-11 had to be reduced accordingly. Similarly if we seek to accelerate capital spending into 2010-11 we will have to repay it in subsequent years and for the GARL project the call on capital funding would be greatest in 2011 through to 2014.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 2 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-27654 by John Swinney on 14 October 2009, whether it made representations after 22 September 2009 to the (a) European Commission or (b) UK Government regarding the EC probe into competition in British banking services; whether these submissions are in writing, and, if so, whether they will be published.
Answer
The European Commission has not opened a formal investigation into Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group, but instead was involved in commercially sensitive discussions concerning the banks'' plans for restructuring as required by the European Commission''s Rescue and Restructuring guidelines, as applied under Article 87(2) (b) of the EC Treaty.
On 3 November 2009, when the banks announced their divestment plans, I wrote to the EC Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Copies of these letters are available in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. numbers 49807 and 49808).
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 2 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has expressed in writing to the (a) European Commissioner for Competition Policy and (b) UK Government on the break-up of the Scottish banks, as reported in the The Scotsman on 4 November 2009.
Answer
Copies of my letters to the European Commissioner for Competition and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are available in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. numbers 49807 and 49808).
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 1 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what “appropriate intervention”, as referred to by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth in The Herald on 1 November 2009, it considers that it took with regard to (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) Lloyds TSB between September 2008 and 1 November 2009.
Answer
The Scottish Government has established the Finance Sector Jobs Taskforce to co-ordinate efforts across Scotland to ensure maximum levels of employment are retained within the financial services industry - focusing on understanding the needs of the industry as it adjusts to the future structures which will emerge as a result of the current climate. The taskforce is engaging directly with both the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group as they work through their restructuring plans.
The Scottish Government Access to Finance Survey was undertaken in the early part of 2009. It surveyed 1,001 SMEs looking at supply, demand and cost of credit and the results were published in July 2009. In particular, the report focuses on how credit conditions have changed for Scottish SMEs during this period, and the current constraints faced by businesses as a result of the credit crunch and current economic downturn.
Scottish ministers shared the results of this survey with the Office of Fair Trading, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the EC Commissioner for Competition. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor credit conditions in Scotland and has commissioned an update to the access to finance survey, which is being undertaken in November.
Scottish ministers have engaged in direct discussions with both the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group on a number of occasions over this period.
On 3 November 2009, immediately following the announcement by both banks of their divestment plans, I wrote to both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and EC Commissioner Neelie Kroes outlining concerns and seeking assurances around the impact of the banks'' divestment process on Scotland''s economy.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 September 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 1 December 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it monitors how many teachers are retiring in each year in each local authority, the extent of pension enhancements offered and the associated costs and prospective liabilities.
Answer
Our teacher workforce modelling exercise monitors, through the annual teacher census, the overall number of teachers leaving and returning to the workforce, irrespective of whether they are retiring or leaving for another reason. The extent of pension enhancements offered and the associated costs and prospective liabilities are matters for individual local authorities.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 27 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the Scottish small-business banking share of (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (b) HBOS in August 2008; (c) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (d) Lloyds Banking Group in August 2009, and (e) the Royal Bank of Scotland and (f) Lloyds Banking Group post disposals required by the European Commissioner for Competition Policy.
Answer
The SME Access to Finance survey indicated that the small-business banking shares at the time of the survey undertaken in March-April 2009 were (a) the Royal Bank of Scotland, 40% (b) HBOS, 28% and (c) Lloyds Banking Group, 7.5%.
Information is not available on small business banking shares post disposals for the Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group as these disposals have not taken place.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in relation to UK Government plans for the Royal Bank of Scotland to be able to use its recent losses to reduce tax bills.
Answer
We are clear that taxpayers must receive a fair return for the significant investments that have been made.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason it did not ask the Office of Fair Trading, under the terms of the Enterprise Act 2002, to refer the small-business banking market in Scotland to the Competition Commission for further investigation in the last year.
Answer
The Scottish Government SME Access to Finance Survey highlighted the extent to which two banks are the main providers of finance to SMEs in Scotland, with around three quarters of the market share for SME finance. The Scottish Government shared these findings with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) at the time of publication, but the responsibility for the decision to refer such matters to the Competition Commission lies with the OFT and not the Scottish Government.
While the Scottish Government has concerns about the concentration of the market, and highlighted this in a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, we also consider that further work is necessary, and should include an assessment of business attitudes towards banking and in switching financial providers.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that its decision to make no written representations to the European Commission regarding the structure of the Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group was correct.
Answer
The European Commission has not opened a formal investigation into Royal Bank of Scotland or Lloyds Banking Group, but instead was involved in commercially sensitive discussions concerning the banks'' plans for restructuring as required by the European Commission''s Rescue and Restructuring guidelines as applied under Article 87(2)(b) of the EC Treaty.
The UK Government, through HM Treasury, was fully involved in these discussions with the EC and both banks. I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 16 July, when the Scottish Government''s Access to Finance Survey 2009 was published, highlighting concerns about the concentration of the market in the provision of finance to SMEs in Scotland.
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer has responsibility for negotiating directly with the European Commission on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole on these reserved state aid matters, we consider that this was the correct course of action for the Scottish Government to pursue.
- Asked by: Ms Wendy Alexander, MSP for Paisley North, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 November 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 26 November 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in relation to any proposed divestments in British banking in light of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth’s comment in a press release on 3 November 2009, “I welcome moves to increase competition in our banking sector”.
Answer
The Scottish Government is clear that the principle of increased competition and choice for business and individual consumers is a welcome development. We are also clear that it is vital that all efforts are made to build upon the skills and expertise which currently exists in Scotland by ensuring that opportunities for jobs and headquarter functions are maximised in Scotland. These objectives will be pursued by the Scottish Government.
