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-08421

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an explanation for the cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend in 2011-12 for the Education and Lifelong Learning portfolio.

Question reference: S4W-08429

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its prediction was in (a) January, (b) February, (c) March and (d) April 2012 for the 2011-12 provisional cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend for (i) resource and (ii) capital.

Question reference: S4W-08426

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what its prediction was in (a) October, (b) November and (c) December 2011 for the 2011-12 provisional cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend for (i) resource and (ii) capital.

The Scottish Government is engaged in the proactive management of the capital and resource departmental expenditure limits budgets throughout the financial year. Financial information at key points in the year is used to support decision making by ministers to ensure the best use of the resources available to the Scottish Government. This is conveyed to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee through the Autumn and Spring Budget Revision processes.

Question reference: S4W-08422

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an explanation for the cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend in 2011-12 for the Justice portfolio.

Question reference: S4W-08435

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the figure of £31 million for 2008-09 on page 2 of Provisional Outturn 2011-12 and Shovel-Ready Projects includes both cash and non-cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL).

Question reference: S4W-08425

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the capital projects that had altered timescales that resulted in a £30 million capital departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend in 2011-12.

Capital projects, by nature, are often managed over a number of financial years and as such the Scottish Government recognises that there will, on occasions, be minor and marginal movements to timescales caused by, for example, weather or planning delays, with a subsequent impact on the expenditure profile of the project. This requires a flexible approach to managing capital budgets over time. In respect of financial year 2011-12, the following projects experienced marginal movements in timescales – the Forth Replacement Crossing, the Victoria and Albert Waterfront project, the Port Edgar project, the Stromness Harbour extension project. Accordingly, appropriate budget will be reassigned to these projects in 2012-13 through the Budget Exchange Mechanism.

Question reference: S4W-08434

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the figure of £47 million for 2009-10 on page 2 of Provisional Outturn 2011-12 and Shovel-Ready Projects includes both cash and non-cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL).

Question reference: S4W-08419

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an explanation for the cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend in 2011-12 for the Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth portfolio.

Question reference: S4W-08411

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive what the provisional total departmental expenditure limit (DEL) underspend has been in each of the last five years.

The Scottish Government is required to manage its Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) cash and non-cash budget within the framework of the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance published by HM Treasury on an annual basis. The figures in the following table are provided on the basis of the rules in place for the respective years and reflect the provisional outturn underspends announced to the Parliament. Financial year 2011-12 was the first year of the Devolved Administrations Budget Exchange Mechanism with the scope for a planned carry forward to 2012-13.

Provisional HM Treasury DEL Underspend by Cash/ Non Cash – 2007-08 to 2011-12

2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million	£ million

Budget Exchange planned c/f (1)	-	-	-	-	-100
Fiscal DEL	-42	-125	-168	-12	-79
Non-cash DEL (2)	0	94	121	-86	-8
Total DEL Underspend	-42	-31	-47	-98	-187
Fiscal DEL% of Total SG DEL	-0.2%	-0.5%	-0.6%	-0.04%	-0.6%

Notes:

1. The Budget Exchange Mechanism is effective from 2011-12 for the period of the current Spending Review.

2. Under HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting rules, non-cash was monitored separately from 2008-09 onwards.

Question reference: S4W-08436

Asked by: Gavin Brown, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 28 June 2012
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 7 August 2012

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the figure of £42 million for 2007-08 on page 2 of Provisional Outturn 2011-12 and Shovel-Ready Projects includes both cash and non-cash departmental expenditure limit (DEL).