The Scottish Government has discussed the institutional structures required under different forms of fiscal responsibility in the National Conversation White Paper Your Scotland, Your Voice and the accompanying discussion papers, which are available on the Scottish Government website http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/a-national-conversation.

These reports highlight how fiscal institutions in other countries operate far more cost effectively than in the UK.

 

Under full fiscal responsibility the Scottish Government would be responsible for raising all revenues and providing public services in Scotland. This would provide the Scottish Government with a range of additional policy levers to protect jobs, promote economic growth and improve Scotland''s long-term competitiveness.

 

At its ninth meeting the Council of Economic Advisers considered many issues related to increasing Scotland''s sustainable economic growth rate, including fiscal autonomy. The minutes of that meeting can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Economy/Council-Economic-Advisers/Meetings/2009-meetings/2010-meeting9.

 

With independence, Scotland would be able to choose the right policy responses to suit its particular circumstances. The recent global financial crisis affected countries large and small. Norway, for example, managed its own banking crisis in the early 1990s, in the end emerging with a more resilient financial sector via a process under which the government actually made money on its investment in the banks. When the global crisis deepened in late 2008, Norway was able to offer securitised bonds totalling more than £33 billion should its banks have needed them.

We are aware that Tesco has submitted a proposal of application to the local council and plans to hold a public exhibition of its plans in late November 2010. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is continuing to work with Tesco to agree how to move forward with this potential development with regards to the health centre.

Following the Scottish Parliament''s ratification of the Budget (Scotland) Act on 3 February 2010, which formalised the Scottish Government''s reluctant decision to cancel the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) branch line works; and in accordance with the requirements of the: Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM); the Scottish Government undertook an internal trawl of all of its Departments and Agencies to ascertain whether there was any other legitimate use that the land, previously acquired under compulsory powers for the GARL project, could be put to. The internal trawl concluded that there was no other use for the land and consequently it was deemed to be surplus to requirements. Therefore in accordance with the statutory obligations of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Act (2007) “ Section 44 Application of Crichel Downs Rules was applied.

We have been in consultation with the following parties in order to comply with the requirements of the SPFM and Crichel Down rules:

Previous land owners

District Valuation Office

Land agents

Legal advisors

The Scottish Parliament has been informed of the intention to dispose of land, purchased under Compulsory Powers and subsequently deemed surplus to requirements, and I would refer the member to the answer to questions: S3W-31078 on 4 February 2010; S3W-32289 on 19 March 2010; S3W-33248 on 23 April 2010; and S3W-33171 on 22 April 2010. Answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The discussions that we have had with the previous owners of the land acquired using compulsory powers is set out in the following table:

Date	Summary of Letter ontent
10 November 2009	Informing previous owners that we were awaiting confirmation of the formal agreement of the Budget proposed on the 17 September 2009. Until outcome of this is known we were not in a position to dispose of any of the land previously acquired, however we confirmed that we would contact original owners shortly thereafter to advise of the Parliament''s decision and propose a way forward.
11 February 2010	Confirming that Parliament met on 3 February 2010 and voted on the Budget as proposed by Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth. This formalised the cancellation of the GARL branch line. We would develop a strategy for the disposal of the land deemed as surplus to requirements and would make further contact to advise of likely timescales for concluding the process.
11 and 26 July 2010	Confirming that internal government land sale process complete and various plots have been declared surplus to the requirements of the Scottish Government and of our intention to sell.  Confirming that under Crichel Downs rules former owners are offered the opportunity to repurchase the land acquired from them.
November 2010	Formal price offer letters to be issued to former owners.

 

Estimates of the tax revenue raised in Scotland from 2004-05 to 2008-09 are available in Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2008-09. The report is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/22160331/0. Estimates for 2009-10 onwards are not currently available.

There are currently 20 permanent employees* of the Scottish Government and associated agencies who are paid an annual basic salary of above £100,000. These are split into the following salary brackets:-

(a) 17 people currently paid between £100,000 and £150,000;

(b) three people currently paid between £150,001 and £200,000; and

(c) none paid more than £200,000.

The list of 172 senior civil servants in central government departments and senior staff in non departmental public bodies who earn more than £150,000 each year was published on the Cabinet Office website on 31 May 2010. Details are available at:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100713194045/http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2010/100701-quangos.aspx

Note: *excludes employees on outward loan/secondment

 

 

The recently published Stage 2 National Renewables Infrastructure Plan (N-RIP) report provides the main source of information on a range of key sites for offshore wind manufacturing in Scotland. The report identifies the opportunity to create clusters of economic activity throughout the supply chains around these locations and highlights the potential to support an offshore wind sector manufacturing 750 complete offshore wind units per year. Scotland''s economic development agencies are taking forward the next stage of N-RIP involving investment in facilities and attracting offshore wind manufacturers to establish operations in Scotland.

The previous UK administration published, and subsequently updated, a UK offshore wind ports prospectus, which set out high-level site characteristics and contact details in relation to a large number of potential sites, including several in Scotland, designed to make it easier for offshore wind companies to make contact with port owners. However, as the prospectus made clear this was, and is, by no means an exclusive list.

Four carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects will be supported by the CCS Levy under the Energy Act 2010, with potential co-financing from the European Union under the New Entrants Reserve competition.

One of these four demonstration projects will be the UK CCS competition winner. The two remaining bids for funding from this competition are Scottish Power at Longannet and E.ON at Kingsnorth in Kent. The competition winner will be selected next year.

Under the Energy Act 2010, the UK Government is required to consult Scottish ministers on wider programmes to support further CCS demonstration projects with the CCS Levy. The Scottish Government is working closely with the UK Government on this wider programme, including making representations that CCS should be demonstrated on a gas plant as well as on coal.

Sites chosen for demonstration of CCS will be dependent on the projects which are successful in both the UK and EU competitive processes, and on projects securing the necessary permits to safely capture, transport and store carbon dioxide.