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: S4O-03216

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 May 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 May 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of what impact the reported decreasing levels of numeracy in schools will have on the uptake of so-called STEM subjects in further and higher education.

Question reference: S4O-03136

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 April 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish its revised forecasts for oil and gas revenues.

Question reference: S4O-03104

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 2 April 2014

To ask the Scottish Government how many renewable energy supply chain jobs have been announced by ministers in person or by news release since May 2011, and how many of those jobs are now in place.

Question reference: S4F-01993

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 24 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2014

To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government position is on BlackRock's warning to investors of the risks faced by an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4O-03074

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the level of local planning decisions overturned on appeal by reporters acting on ministers' behalf.

Question reference: S4W-19918

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what the timescale would be for setting up the fair work commission that it has pledged to establish if Scotland became independent; what its remit would be, and who would be invited to join.

The Scottish Government has adopted a strong social partnership approach, working with the voluntary sector, unions, employer associations and employers directly. With independence we will build on this approach. The fair work commission will commence its work on the first day of an independent Scotland and will consist of members drawn from business, trade unions and wider society. It will provide advice on factors relating to individual and collective rights which contribute to fairness at work and business competitiveness, recognising that both are integral elements of sustainable economic growth in Scotland. It will provide advice on the minimum wage, with a guarantee that it will rise at least in line with inflation. The commission will work with a convention on employment and labour relations to transform the relationship between government, employers and employees.

Question reference: S4W-19919

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 March 2014

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish a fair work commission if there is a No vote in the independence referendum and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

The rationale for the fair work commission described in Scotland’s Future is dependent upon the creation of an independent Scotland, as employment law is currently a reserved matter.

However, Working Together, the independent review of progressive workplace policies in Scotland, which was announced in February 2014, builds on the Scottish Government‘s established position: we are committed to working with the STUC and employer representatives across the public and private sectors in Scotland, on strategic issues of common interest. The terms of reference of the review recognise that the active presence of both of these communities and the quality of the dialogue and cooperation they can achieve are crucial pre-conditions for the attainment of sustainable economic growth, creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish.

Only independence will give us the powers we need to create sustainable employment that pays fairly.

Question reference: S4W-19594

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 February 2014
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions ministers or officials have had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer or Treasury officials on (a) new taxes and (b) devolution of taxes under provisions contained in the Scotland Act 2012 since that act came into force.

Question reference: S4O-02879

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 5 February 2014

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of how much it would cost an independent Scotland to establish overseas representation.

Question reference: S4W-17848

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 17 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its paper, Pensions in an Independent Scotland, that it would “consider the pension terms of all uniformed services”, what projections it has made of the cost of changes to the terms.

Public sector pensions policy has been imposed on Scotland with insufficient engagement and consultation. In March 2012 the Scottish Government entered into partnership negotiations on the terms of reformed pension schemes in good faith, requiring the new schemes to: be implemented from April 2015; be career average by design; fit within the cost constraints applied by the UK Government. However, pensions policy is currently reserved to Westminster and the UK Government imposed additional constraints on the negotiations through its Public Service Pensions Act.

It would be a matter for future Scottish Governments to set the terms of any such exercise and the financial resources available. The white paper, Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland includes the commitment that under independence, with a full range of powers at its disposal, this Scottish Government would consider the pension terms of uniformed services, including whether they should have access to their occupational pension at a consistent age or whether this should better reflect the role they carry out and the physical impact of their service. This would be informed by the recommendation of its Independent Commission on the appropriate State Pension Age for Scotland.