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: S4W-18781

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 December 2013
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 13 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish all of the (a) official and (b) ministerial correspondence between it and the UK Government concerning the closure of the Renewables Obligation and the associated transitional arrangements.

The Scottish Government has published a letter from the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism, Mr Ewing, to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Mr Davey, dated 1 November 2013 concerning the closure of the Renewables Obligation. This can be found at the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/ElectricityMarketReform/Letter01-Nov-13

We have no plans to publish any other correspondence.

Question reference: S4W-17845

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what the Office for National Statistics national population projections used in its paper, Pensions in an Independent Scotland, suggest the difference will be between Scotland and the rest of the UK in relation to the number of dependents of pensionable age per 1,000 people from 2010 to 2035.

Updated 2012-based population projections have been produced by the Office of National Statistics and National Records of Scotland since the publication of Pensions in an Independent Scotland.

UK-wide dependency ratios are provided in the following table:

Dependency ratios per 100 working age population(2012)	UK	Scotland	England	N.Ireland	Wales
Overall	62	59	62	61	66
Pensioner	31	31	31	27	36
Children	30	27	31	34	30
Dependency ratios per 100 working age population (2037)	UK	Scotland	England	N.Ireland	Wales
Overall	66	66	66	68	70
Pensioner	36	38	36	37	41
Children	29	28	30	31	29

Footnotes:

1. Source: ONS/NRS 2012-based population projections. They show what happens under certain assumptions about future fertility, mortality and migration. The assumptions are based largely on past trends and although they will reflect past policy and economic impacts, they do not take account of future changes that may occur as a result of policy initiatives.

2. A useful summary measure of the age structure of a population is the dependency ratio, the ratio of people aged under 16 and those over pensionable age, to those of working age. Dependency ratios can be defined in different ways, but here are defined as the number of children aged under 16 and the number of people of state pension age per 100 people of working age. These ratios should be interpreted with care. For example, a simple interpretation is the number of older people or children who are “dependent” on people aged 15 to 64, the assumption being that most older people and children are not economically active. The reality is of course much more complex, since, to give just a few reasons, many people of typically working age are unemployed or economically inactive (e.g. at school or university), the age at which people retire varies greatly and many retired people are financially independent. However, these “dependency” ratios provide a useful way to examine the relative age structure of the population.

3. The figures for working age and pensionable age take into account the increases in the state pension age as set out in the 2011 Pensions Act. Between 2012 and 2018, the state pension age will rise from 60 to 65 for women. Then between 2019 and 2020 , it will rise from 65 years to 66 years for both men and women. A further rise in state pension age is legislated to take place in two stages between 2034 and 2046 to bring the state pension age from 66 to 68. The data presented here do not reflect proposed further changes to the state pension age published by the UK government. The UK Government has introduced legislation to bring forward the increase to State Pension age 67, to be phased in between 2026 and 2028, and the 2013 Autumn Statement introduced the principle that people should expect to spend up to one third of their adult life in retirement. This implies further increases to 68 to occur in the mid 2030s and 69 in the late 2040s. These proposed changes are not yet law and still require the approval of the UK Parliament. Further information regarding these changes can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/263942/35062_Autumn_Statement_2013.pdf

Question reference: S4O-02744

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 19 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide support for the proposed centre for innovation that is to be based in Edinburgh and named after the Nobel laureate, Professor Peter Higgs.

Question reference: S4W-17838

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the Deputy First Minister's statement that it is a “myth that Scotland’s population is somehow uniquely ageing or ageing faster than that of the rest of the UK” (Official Report, c. 22775) is consistent with the statement in the Scottish Government report, Demographic Change in Scotland, that “Scotland’s population is ageing, and ageing somewhat more rapidly than the other UK countries.”

Scotland and the UK both face ageing populations, as do all developed countries. However, the position facing each country is different.

Updated population projections (2012 based) were released on 6th November 2013. These suggest that the gap between Scotland and the UK, in terms of the projected increase in the pensioner population, is wider than that cited in Pensions in an Independent Scotland: Scotland faces an increase in pensioners of 27% between 2012 and 2037, compared to the UK’s 31%.

At the same time, Scotland faces lower projected growth in the working age population than the UK (4% compared with 12%) and this affects the respective dependency ratios.

Both the UK and Scotland need to address these challenges in ways that best suit the context each faces. The pensions paper sets out why independence offers the optimal route to a successful resolution for Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-17835

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has sought legal advice on the operation of cross-border pension schemes in an independent Scotland and, if so, what advice it has received.

Question reference: S4W-17825

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the cost in an independent Scotland of a new single tier state pension (a) without the scheduled rise in pension age to 67 and (b) being initially set at a higher rate that the UK state pension.

We intend if in government, to appoint an independent commission on the state pension age within the first year of independence. The commission will have a remit to investigate and make recommendations on the appropriate rate of increase of the state pension age, beyond 66, that would suit Scottish circumstances. The commission will take into account life expectancy, fairness and affordability, including implications for increased public sector pension costs.

Question reference: S4W-17849

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its paper, Pensions in an Independent Scotland, that it “would continue with the roll-out of automatic enrolment” in an independent Scotland, (a) whether it will provide details of what body would be set up to administer this and (b) how it would mitigate issues that arise from the need to determine residency.

Question reference: S4W-17834

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with organisations that operate pension funds that would be considered cross-border in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-17823

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the (a) capital and (b) running costs of setting up a body to replicate the National Employment Savings Trust in an independent Scotland.

Question reference: S4W-17810

Asked by: Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 18 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 9 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what procedures underpin the guarantee that pensions will be paid "on time and in full" in an independent Scotland if no agreement can be reached with the UK Government.

Scotland already has the people and infrastructure in place to manage and to pay pensions and pension scheme administrators across the UK will continue to pay pensions on time and in full during any transitional period leading up to a move to independence. Indeed, existing safeguards for scheme members are being further strengthened by the introduction of the governance provisions of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.

In addition section 30 of the Edinburgh Agreement committed the UK and Scottish Governments ‘to continue to work together constructively in the light of the outcome, whatever it is, in the best interests of the people of Scotland and of the rest of the United Kingdom.’

During the transitional period, pensions will continue to be paid as currently and will continue to benefit from legislative protections under the continuity of law principle. Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights also means that pension rights are property rights under the Convention which governments must respect.