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-01613

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 December 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 13 December 2012

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet Scottish Enterprise.

Question reference: S4O-01527

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 28 November 2012

To ask the Scottish Government what its "Government outcomes" are for science as noted on page 61 of the Draft Budget 2013-14.

Question reference: S4W-10009

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09656 by John Swinney on 2 October 2012, whether it will provide the information requested and confirm what the outcome was of the last regular monitoring exercise.

The latest monitoring returns (October 2012) from local authorities confirm they are on course to deliver the non domestic rate income projections, taking into account estimating changes from prior year adjustments, contained in the draft budget for 2012-13 and 2013-14 and this demonstrates that the Scottish Government has taken a prudent approach to forecasting income levels.

All income projections across the spending review period are subject to regular monitoring and any changes to the estimates as a result are presented to the Parliament for approval as part of the normal budget cycle process.

The established process for accounting and estimating rates income is fully open and transparent. Details of the rates collected and distributed are subject to audit by Audit Scotland and are published annually in the Non-Domestic Rating Account and full details of the calculation of the annual distributable amount, including the monitoring returns from local authorities on which it is based, is published annually in the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics.

Question reference: S4W-10011

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09656 by John Swinney on 2 October 2012, when the data returns for the 2012-13 non-domestic rate mid-year estimates from local authorities will be published.

Question reference: S4W-10010

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 October 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-09656 by John Swinney on 2 October 2012, when the data returns for the 2011-12 non-domestic rate notified amounts from local authorities will be published.

Question reference: S4W-09206

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 27 August 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 10 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08856 by John Swinney on 16 August 2012, on which page of the document the information requested can be found.

Question reference: S4W-09657

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, for what reason it has not published the data relating to the "regular monitoring"’ of non-domestic rates income projections.

Question reference: S4W-09654

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, what specific "regular monitoring" takes place regarding non-domestic rates income projections.

The Scottish Government receives four non-domestic rate returns per year from local authorities which allow comparisons to be made between its projections and the actual position returned by each local authority. The Scottish Government also monitors the current economic climate, including movements in the Retail Price Index (RPI) as the UK Government poundage rate, which we have committed to match, is increased annually in line with the September RPI preceding the start of the new financial year. If any adjustments for future year estimates are necessary they will be brought to the attention of the Parliament and its committees as part of the Budget scrutiny process.

Question reference: S4W-09655

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 3 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, when the last "regular monitoring" of non-domestic rates income projections took place.

Question reference: S4W-09656

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 17 September 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 2 October 2012

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S4W-08911 by John Swinney on 27 July 2012, what the outcome was of the last "regular monitoring" of non-domestic rates income projections.

The estimates published in the Draft Budget are based on the most robust data available at that time. Local authorities are due to submit their data returns (the 2011-12 non-domestic rate notified amounts and the 2012-13 non-domestic rate mid-year estimates) in early October and the September Retail Price Index (RPI) figures will be released by the middle of October.

Following a review of the information that will be available in October, any future adjustments necessary will be brought to the attention of the Parliament and its committees for scrutiny as part of the Budget process.