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-18568

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking ahead of the independence referendum to identify pension schemes that operate both in Scotland and across the rest of the UK; what information it has on how many of the schemes fail to meet the requirement in the EU directive for occupational retirement schemes that they should be fully-funded at all times, and what information it has on (a) the size of the funding shortfall and (b) how many have a recovery plan to deal with this.

Information on the valuations and recovery plans of UK defined benefit and hybrid pension schemes is published by The Pensions Regulator and is available on its website:

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/scheme-funding-appendix-2013.pdf. Data held by The Pensions Regulator does not identify which of these schemes operates both in Scotland and in the rest of the UK.

Our paper on Pensions in an Independent Scotland clearly sets out the steps we think should be taken to agree pragmatic transitional arrangements to address the impact of the cross-border requirements on existing schemes and set out how schemes which become cross-border at the date of independence would be required to adjust.

The Scottish Government proposes that discussions with the UK Government and the European Commission on this issue should start immediately, with a view to agreeing appropriate transitional arrangements.

Question reference: S4O-02711

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 December 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the scores for science in the 2012 OECD Programme for International Student Assessment results.

Question reference: S4O-02672

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 4 December 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has had with the Chief Constable regarding the publication of crime statistics.

Question reference: S4W-17919

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 22 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that the apprentice national minimum wage is a fair level of payment for apprentices.

The Scottish Government has been consistent in its commitment to tackle poverty, fair levels of pay are an important part of that commitment. The UK Apprentice Pay Survey (2011) found that the average rate of gross hourly pay received by apprentices in Scotland was £5.91.

We recognise the expectation of employers that apprentices should earn a lower rate of pay while in training, we believe this is balanced by their ability to progress and earn a higher rate of pay after completion.

The Scottish Government believes that it is important that the apprentice rate is regularly reviewed and does not fall too low in real terms, particularly in relation to the national minimum wage for 16–17 year olds.

Question reference: S4O-02628

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 27 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it can give to expand the provision of credit unions across the country.

Question reference: S4W-17918

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 19 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to apprentices in relation to (a) the costs of travel to and from their placement and (b) the purchase of equipment required for the apprenticeship.

Apprentices who are normally resident in Argyll and Bute; Western Isles (Eilean Siar); Highland; Moray; Orkney and Shetland who incur travel costs as a result of attending structured and formal off-the-job training, required as part of their modern apprenticeship, are eligible to apply for travel cost support from Skills Development Scotland (SDS). This is in line with the SDS Travel and Subsistence Process and Policy for Participants in specified local authority areas 2013-14, full details of which are available at:

www.providercentral.org.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.aspx?lID=1502&sID=521.

Apprentices aged 16-18 may also be able to benefit from the Scotland-wide Concessionary Travel Scheme for Young People. This initiative provides discounts on bus, rail and ferry travel

Given the employed status of modern apprentices, it is up to the individual employer to decide whether to support the cost of equipment required for their employees.

Question reference: S4O-02582

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 November 2013
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 14 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what impact it considers reduced opening times at police stations such as Giffnock will have on residents' feelings of safety and security.

Question reference: S4W-17920

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government what it pays its apprentices per hour.

Question reference: S4W-17991

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has agreed with the Treasury the 25-year repayment period set out in the 2014-15 draft budget for borrowing £296 million from the National Loans Fund in 2015-16.

Question reference: S4W-17992

Asked by: Ken Macintosh, MSP for Eastwood, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 5 November 2013

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the 2014-15 draft budget sets out borrowing £296 million from the National Loans Fund in 2015-16 over a 25-year period and not the 10-year maximum recommended in the UK Government’s white paper, Strengthening Scotland’s Future.