- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 16 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision has been taken as to who will attend the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi on its behalf and, if so, (a) who this will be and (b) at what estimated cost.
Answer
As Scotland will be the next host of the Commonwealth Games both the First Minister and the Minister for Public Health and Sport will attend part of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, although not concurrently. At this point it is not possible to calculate the total cost of sending our representatives but we are working to ensure the best possible price.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 15 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what prisoners have been released on compassionate grounds in the last 12 months.
Answer
Three prisoners have been granted early release on compassionate grounds in the past 12 months. Where the terms of the Data Protection Act allow, their details are provided in following table:
| Date of release | Name of Prisoner |
| 20 August 2009 | Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed -al Megrahi |
| 18 September 2009 | Jason Sutherland |
| 6 July 2010 | Name withheld (still alive) |
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 15 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to bring forward any major capital or revenue expenditure in order to avoid paying the increased cost resulting from the rise in VAT.
Answer
The Scottish Government is reviewing expenditure profiles where the scope for flexibility exists.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it will use to fund the Forth replacement crossing.
Answer
As advised in the Parliamentary statement on Strategic Transport Projects Review, on 10 December 2008, the Forth Replacement Crossing will be publicly funded and will be procured through a conventional design and build contract.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 02 July 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the total expenditure was on the passenger rail franchise and associated costs in 2009-10.
Answer
The total expenditure on the passenger rail franchise in 2009-10 was £271m. In addition Network Rail provides the infrastructure on which the services operate and Scottish Ministers fund Network Rail in respect of the rail network in Scotland. The Network Rail payment for 2009-10 was £367m. The franchise payment to ScotRail is for delivering the terms of the Franchise Agreement including the services specified. The Network Rail payment is for the operation, maintenance and renewal of the existing network.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Adam Ingram on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual increase in cost would be to provide free school meals for all children.
Answer
It is estimated that to provide free school meals to all children currently in publicly funded schools (Primary, Secondary and the Special sector) would cost an additional £240 million each year.
This figure does not include any costs associated with capacity issues, staffing or transport or the impact of inflation on future costs.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what changes in special advisers have been made in the last six months.
Answer
In April 2010 Stephen Noon and Stuart Nicolson resigned to participate in the UK General Election. Stephen Noon chose not to return but Stuart Nicolson returned to his Special Adviser role on 17 May 2010.
Alex Bell was appointed as a Special Adviser for a fixed term from 14 June 2010 until 24 September 2010.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what further expenditure would be incurred if the Forth Replacement Crossing were cancelled immediately.
Answer
It is estimated that up to £22 million pounds of expenditure would be incurred if the Forth Replacement Crossing project were cancelled immediately. This is in relation to contingent liability costs and work already committed. This figure does not include any wind-down costs or staff redeployment which cannot be estimated at this stage.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated impact on its expenditure is of the increase in VAT to 20%, broken down by directorate.
Answer
The estimated impact of the increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20% for the Scottish Government''s own direct expenditure by directorate, forecast based on 2009-10 actual expenditure is:
| Directorate General | Forecast |
| Increase £M |
| Economy and Chief Economic Adviser | 0.2 |
| Education | 0.3 |
| Health and Chief Executive NHS Scotland | 0.8 |
| Justice and Communities | 1.1 |
| Permanent Secretary | 0.5 |
| Rural Affairs, Environment and Services | 2.0 |
| Grand Total | 4.9 |
The total for the Scottish Government VAT registration including agencies is £7.2m.
- Asked by: George Foulkes, MSP for Lothians, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2010
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Current Status:
Answered by John Swinney on 14 July 2010
To ask the Scottish Executive what areas of its expenditure are subject to VAT.
Answer
The areas of expenditure subject to VAT and the rules that apply to the Scottish Government are set out in the VAT section of the Scottish Public Finance Manual:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/spfm/vat.
