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-10304

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what criteria the Scottish Futures Trust used to assess the applications for tax incremental financing pilot projects.

<>The details of the assessment criteria for Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) applications are contained within the TIF Chief Executive Process letter that was sent to Local Authorities in June 2011. This is available on the Scottish Futures Trust’s website at: www.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/publications/tif-chief-exec-process-letter/. This makes clear that the role of the assessment panel comprising Scottish Futures Trust and Scottish Government officials was to make recommendations to Ministers, and that “final approval for TIF pilots rests with Scottish Ministers”.

The assessment panel’s scores and comments on the applications can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/FOI.

Scottish Futures Trust recommended to Ministers that the three highest scoring Councils (Falkirk, Fife and Argyll & Bute) should be invited to prepare full TIF business cases for Ministers’ consideration.

Whilst Ministers took account of the recommendations of the assessment panel and, indeed, chose to invite the three highest ranking local authorities to submit full TIF business cases, they also considered wider factors that were not addressed by the panel.

Ministers invited Aberdeen City Council to submit a full TIF business case, provided that public support for the Union Terrace Gardens project could be demonstrated. Aberdeen’s project was chosen to ensure good geographical spread of TIF pilots. It was also selected because of the potential of the scheme to lever in £55 million of private funding immediately, representing 40% of the estimated total cost of the City Garden Project (£140 million). The potential to lever in such levels of guaranteed private funding for the creation of the assets made this project unique amongst those for which bids had been received.

Ministers wrote to Aberdeen City Council on 1 November 2011 inviting the Council to develop further its plans to use TIF for the Union Terrace Gardens project if public support for the project could be demonstrated. Aberdeen City Council was advised to contact Scottish Futures Trust if they required any further information or assistance in relation to the business case.

Scottish Futures Trust was informed about the proposals that Ministers wished to take forward shortly before the announcement of the successful applications in November 2011. The progress of the TIF pilot scheme, including Aberdeen City Council’s project, has been discussed during routine meetings between Ministers and the Chairman and Chief Executive of Scottish Futures Trust.

Question reference: S4W-10309

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the (a) chairman and (b) chief executive of the Scottish Futures Trust regarding Aberdeen City Council's tax incremental financing application and when.

Question reference: S4W-10311

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers considered Aberdeen City Council's proposal for a tax incremental financing pilot project ahead of higher ranked proposals and, if so, on what grounds.

Question reference: S4W-10306

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Scottish Futures Trust used geographic location as part of the assessment criteria for tax incremental financing pilot projects.

Question reference: S4W-10305

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 14 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether ministers set a requirement for the Scottish Futures Trust to have a geographical spread of tax incremental financing pilot projects and, if so, what that spread was.

Question reference: S4F-00986

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 12 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 15 November 2012

To ask the First Minister what the purpose is of the Scottish Government's proposed changes to criminal legal aid.

Question reference: S4W-10283

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether it (a) plans to recommence publishing monthly performance indicators on the Disclosure Scotland website and (b) has discussed publishing police response times on a monthly basis.

Question reference: S4W-10282

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has prioritised retrospective checks on enhanced disclosure certificates of staff from certain organisations and, if so, what organisations.

Disclosure Scotland has not prioritised retrospective checking for any organisation. It has worked with major users to put in place monthly maximum allocations of retrospective applications they may submit. The allocations are not inflexible and will be reviewed regularly by Disclosure Scotland in consultation with the organisations.

The decision about which staff and when they should be asked to apply to join the PVG Scheme under retrospective checking has been left to employers and organisations as they are best placed to make that decision.

Question reference: S4W-10279

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government whether Disclosure Scotland has set a target date for the completion of all retrospective checks on enhanced disclosure certificates and, if so, what date.

Question reference: S4W-10281

Asked by: Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 7 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with (a) police forces, (b) Disclosure Scotland and (c) representatives of the Scottish police service regarding whether additional resources will be needed once retrospective checks on enhanced disclosure certificates start on 29 October 2012.

Discussions have taken place between Disclosure Scotland officials representing Scottish Ministers, the Scottish police forces and the ACPOS strategic lead for this area of work.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10280 on 7 November 2012. All 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.